Finding You Again
by lit1586
Summary: Jess is forced to return to Star's Hallow just when he and Rory vowed to forget about eachother forever. What will happen when they see eachother again? Completed
1. Running AwayHome

A/N: Song lyrics are double spaced and in //.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything...expect for the story. And maybe Jess (but only in my dreams)  
  
Summary: Jess is forced to move back to Star's Hollow, but what will Rory do when she finds out he's back?  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Graduation night. Rory's party at Luke's diner.  
  
Rory entered the diner in her graduation dress, her gown draped over her arm and her cap in hand. Lorelai stood behind her as the entire room clapped and cheered. The guests were overwhelming as everyone tried to congratulate Rory on her graduation. Through all of their smile, she tried her best to seem happy, but thoughts of Jess plagued her mind. She kept thinking of the phone call and what she had said to him.  
  
"Mom I'm gonna get some air, it's crowed in here." Rory called over the loud music and booming voices.  
  
"Ok sweetie. Don't be too long. It is your party." Lorelai grinned and kissed her forehead. "My little high school graduate."  
  
Rory forced a smiled. "I'll be back soon." She promised, then walked out the door. Lorelai paused for a second, sensing that something was off, but didn't go after her, she obviously wanted to be alone.  
  
Cap and gown still in hand, she wondered subconsciously to the bridge and starred down into the waters. It seemed a little ruff, the water splashed violently against the posts of the bridge. Rory sighed and sat down, her legs dangling inches over the water, every once and a while catching a spray of it. She gazed into the dark, black water that had once seem so crystal clear. Once again her thoughts wondered to Jess.  
  
//Oh no, I see  
  
The spider web is tangled up with me  
  
And I lost my head  
  
And thought of all the stupid things I'd said//  
  
Meanwhile, in California, Jess let the smoke from his cigarette seep out through his mouth and nostrils. He sat starring motionless out along the ocean's horizon, remembering Rory's words and pondering what she was doing at that very moment. She's a high school graduate now, that's more then I could say for myself. Maybe it was a good thing that I left the way I did,* He thought to himself, trying to make himself believe that what he did wasn't wrong. Trying to justify his action in some way. *I never could have given Rory the things she deserved. *  
  
//Oh no, what's this?  
  
A spider web and I'm caught in the middle  
  
So I turn to run  
  
And thought of all the stupid things I'd done//  
  
Rory wiped a tear from her cheek and let out a soft, shaky sigh. It was true. "I love you Jess." She whispered into the air, her heart breaking at the words that had escaped from her mouth. He was probably off somewhere right now with some new girl...having fun, not a thought of her in his mind.  
  
//And I never meant to cause you trouble  
  
I never meant to do you wrong  
  
And ah, well if I ever caused you trouble  
  
Oh, no I never meant to do you harm//  
  
Jess took one more drag from his cigarette and stared at it. Rory never liked his smoking. With that thought, he dropped the cigarette to the sand and let out his last breath of smoke. *Even the smallest things remind me of her. * He let out a growl. *You need to get over her Mariano, she deserves much better then you.* With that, he stood and headed back towards Jimmy's house with a new mission.  
  
//Oh no, I see  
  
The spider web and it's me in the middle  
  
So I twist and turn  
  
But here am I in my little bubble//  
  
The temperature had seemed to drop dramatically in the last few seconds, Rory wrapped her arms around herself and remembered what it was like to have Jess' around her instead. Rory rejected the tears that formed in her eyes, she decided then and there not to cry over him anymore. She refused. As far as she was concerned, he never even existed.  
  
//Singing out  
  
I never meant to cause you trouble  
  
I never meant to do you wrong  
  
And ah, well if I ever caused you trouble  
  
Oh, no I never meant to do you harm//  
  
Both of them decided then that they were determined to forget about each other and move on. Being that there was an entire country separating them is would only make it easier ... or so they thought.  
  
//They spun a web for me  
  
They spun a web for me  
  
They spun a web for me//  
  
When Jess arrived to his new 'home' so to speak, he found Jimmy waiting at the kitchen table. "We need to talk." He announced.  
  
"I'm not really into the heart to hearts if that's what you were aiming for." Jess replied.  
  
"I just talked to Luke." Jimmy revealed, as Jess tried to looked indifferent. He sat back on the living room couch, grabbing a car magazine and propping his legs up on the coffee table. "He's expecting you by tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Excuse me." Jess questioned with disbelief as Jimmy rambled on and on with excuse after excuse as to why he had decided that Jess shouldn't live in California with him. "I can't believe you. First you walk out on me when I'm born and now when I need you for one small favor, you can't help me."  
  
"I'm sorry Jess, but I think you're Mom was right. You should stay with Luke, in Star's Hollow. It's the best thing for you." Jimmy explained, looking into Jess' eyes. "I want you to finish high school Jess, and then we can talk about you moving here. But for now, I need you to do this. You can have a great life Jess, I hear your a pretty smart kid when you actually try."  
  
"Stop trying to act like my father. Just because you donated the sperm it doesn't make you my dad." Jess stood and rolled his eyes. "And what do you know about smart anyway? You didn't finish high school either."  
  
"Exactly, and that's why it's so important to me that you do... I don't want you to struggle through life." Jimmy yelled. "Especially when you don't have to." Jess looked away. "I know this sounds kinda stupid coming from me, but I believe that you can do it, you just have to try."  
  
"Save the pep talk Jimmy." He scowled. "I'll go back to Luke's... He's the only one who wants me anyway."  
  
"Hey...." Jimmy began, but Jess' look warned him not to continue. "I'll buy you a ticket and bring you to the bus stop tomorrow morning."  
  
"Don't bother. I wouldn't want to put you out for another night." Jess retorted. "I just have to pack my things. I'll be gone in 5 minutes." He told him as he grabbed his duffle bag and threw his belongings in. "Have a nice life." Jess growled before leaving Jimmy standing helplessly.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Song credits: Trouble by Coldplay  
  
A/n: Sorry for the spelling the mistakes. I'm not much of an editor. 


	2. Avoiding the Unavoidable

Chapter 2:  
  
2:00 AM  
  
::RING::  
  
"What the hell?" Luke reached out from under his covered and slammed on his sleep button.  
  
::RING::  
  
Luke sat up and realized that it wasn't the alarm clock, but his phone that had woken him up. "Who's calling me at 2:00 in the morning?" He groaned.  
  
::RING::  
  
"I'm coming." He growled as he shuffled over to the phone and cleared his throat. "What?" His voice was raspy.  
  
"Go downstairs."  
  
"Jess? Is that you?" Luke questioned, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"No it's Santa Clause." Jess replied sarcastically.  
  
"Jess. It's 2 in the morning. I don't have to wake up for 4 more hours and I'm grumpy. So forgive me if I'm not in the mood for you witty comebacks. What do you want?"  
  
"Just go downstairs. I need you to do something." Jess told him. "It's very important. Life or death."  
  
"Why? What's wrong?" Luke questioned as he opened the apartment door and rushed down the stairs. Coming out from behind the curtain, he stopped dead in his tracks. Jess was standing at the payphone across the street, duffle bag in hand. "Jess?"  
  
"That's my name."  
  
"What are you doing here? " He asked, still talking on the phone and standing by the counter. "You weren't supposed to come until tomorrow."  
  
"Are you gonna let me in?"  
  
"Oh yeah." He sighed, rushing to the door and opening it. As Jess made his way over to the diner. "Sorry."  
  
"No biggy." He shrugged and continued up the stairs.  
  
Luke locked the door and followed after him. "At the risk of sounding redundant...Why are you here already?"  
  
"Didn't feel like staying." He replied dumping his cloths out on his bed. "I suppose you have some rules for me or something."  
  
"Yeah. But I haven't thought of them yet. You're early." Luke replied. "We'll talk tomorrow OK? I'm gonna get my last 4 hours of sleep." He sighed, scratching his head as he went back to bed.  
  
"Nighty night"  
  
The next morning  
  
"Wake up my little graduat." Lorelai shook Rory's sleeping body with excitement. Then noticed an empty box of tissues on the ground. "Hey. You aren't dead are you?" She asked, poking her.  
  
"What's your definition of dead?" Rory asked from under the covers.  
  
"Ummm Not breathing." Lorelai replied, taking a seat on the bed.  
  
"Then no." She threw the covers off of her face and sat up. "I'm not dead."  
  
"OH good. Cause I need someone to get coffee with." Lorelai replied, sounding relieved.  
  
"I'll be out in a second." Rory sighed, getting up and walking to her closet.  
  
"How are you doing?" Lorelai asked, with no sign of leaving.  
  
"I thought you want coffee."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then will you let me get dressed?" Rory questioned with a smirk.  
  
"Hey. You're my daughter. I bathed you, clothed you and changed your disgustingly dirty diapers. Plus, I let you live inside me for nine whole months." Lorelai pointed out. "Without paying rent I might add." Rory gave her mother a disgusted look. "Fine. I'm going." Five minutes later, Rory came out of her room dressed and ready. She found her mom waiting by the door. "Finally. I was starting to think you go lost."  
  
"In my room?"  
  
"It's been known to happen." Lorelai nodded.  
  
"To who?" Rory question.  
  
"To....ummm...people with a really bad sense of direction." She lied, making up an answer. "Come on. Let's go." She ordered. "I can't function without coffee."  
  
"That's obvious." Rory laughed, following her mother out of the house.  
  
They walked quietly for the next few minutes until Lorelai couldn't take it anymore. "So is there something you want to tell me?" Lorelai questioned as they approached Luke's.  
  
"No. I don't think so." She replied looking away, not wanting to talk about the call that she had gotten from Jess after her graduation.  
  
"Nothing at all?" She pressed, raising an eyebrow. Rory knew that she wouldn't give up. It was obvious that she knew something was going on.  
  
"Ummm...did I tell you that Jess called?" Rory asked, knowing full well that she didn't.  
  
"What? When?"  
  
"Yesterday. At graduation and actually several times before that. Remember the phone calls I kept getting?"  
  
"That was him? Of course, why didn't I think of that?" Lorelai asked herself, then got a look of sympathy on her face. "So...what did he say?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Come on. Tell me."  
  
"I just did." Rory sighed, as Lorelai looked at her with confusion.  
  
"Nothin as in he said the word nothing or nothing as in he didn't speak?" Lorelai asked, trying to make sense of what Rory had told her.  
  
"The second one."  
  
"How did you know it was him if he didn't talk?"  
  
"I just...know." She shrugged. "I could feel it."  
  
"Well, that must have been one hell of a conversation." Lorelai laughed then realized that Rory wasn't really in a joking mood. "Sorry." She sighed. "So what happened?"  
  
"I just told him how I felt." She replied. "I told him that he could have talked to me and he didn't handle things right. And I told him. I'm moving on and that I refuse to pine over him. So I'm not going to." She explained purposely leave out the part where she told Jess that she had loved him.  
  
Lorelai sighed heavily as they both stopped outside of Luke's and she looked down at Rory. It was obvious that she was still upset. "Sweetie. You know it's OK to pine for a little while." She told her, rubbing her arm. "I mean. He was important to you. SO It's understandable that you would..."  
  
"No mom. I need to move on with my life. Jess is gone. He's never coming back. It's over." Rory confirmed trying to sound strong. "Now come on. I'm getting hungry." She pulled the diner door open and walked in, Lorelai followed behind quickly. "Morning Luke."  
  
"Rory! Lorelai! You're here. HI." Luke called nervously as he rubbed his hands together.  
  
"Luke. Hi!" Lorelai copied his tone and give him a weird look.  
  
"You feeling OK?" Rory questioned as she and Lorelai sat down at the counter.  
  
"I'm good...fine...great." He stuttered.  
  
"Pick a verb. Any verb." Lorelai joked, as she watched Luke glance at the curtain nervously before pouring two cups of coffee.  
  
"How'd you know we wanted coffee?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Lucky guess." He replied sarcastically. "Umm..so are you gonna leave soon?"  
  
"That's the kind of hospitality we like to see." Lorelai smirked a little confused. "Are sure you're OK?"  
  
"I'm..."  
  
"Good. Fine. Great. We know." Rory laughed taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"Uh huh. Listen Lorelai. Can I talk to you?" Luke asked leaning on the counter with his hands.  
  
"I don't know. Have you taken your medication today?" She asked with a laugh, but could tell he was serious by the look on his face. "Sure. OK." She nodded, getting concerned as she follow him into the storage room. "Luke. What is going on with you?"  
  
"You have to get her out of here now." He blurted out quickly.  
  
"What? Who?"  
  
"Rory. Get her out of the diner now." He repeated, clarifying slightly.  
  
"Luke. You've lost me."  
  
"He's here. He's here." He stuttered nervously.  
  
"He's here? Who's he? Luke..." Lorelai stopped as the realization set. "Jess? Is Jess here Luke?"  
  
He nodded quickly. "Yeah he's upstairs. He's not awake yet, but he could come down any minute."  
  
"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me this sooner? I have to get her out of here." Lorelai yelled in a panic slapping his arm.  
  
"I just told you."  
  
"Yeah. But you should have told me as soon as I came in. What if he had come down while we were ordering. Right there in mid pour."  
  
"Why are you still standing here talking to me?" Luke questioned, pushing her towards the door. "Get her out."  
  
"Right. Right." She turned to face him, stopping short. "What should I say?"  
  
"I don't know. Just go. I'll run up stairs and make sure he's not coming."  
  
"Good idea. OK." Lorelai sighed. "Let's regroup for a second." She sighed.  
  
"No time." Luke pointed out, as Lorelai nodded and they both walked out the door trying to look calm. Rory gave them a weird look as Luke strolled over to the curtain and ran behind it as soon as he got there. Lorelai laughed nervously as she returned to Rory's side.  
  
"Is he OK?" Roy asking taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"Who Luke? Yeah. Good...fine...great." she grinned.  
  
"What was that about?" Rory questioned.  
  
"What? What was what about?" She asked, not sitting down.  
  
"That Luke thing."  
  
"Oh just something with Nicole. He needed a women's POV." She lied, waving his hand as if it was nothing important. "Hey...you wanna leave?" She asked nonchalantly.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Ummm...I got a call...from Sookie." She replied looked up at the ceiling trying to think of an excuse. "She wants me to help her pick out the colors for the inn and I thought you might want to help me, cause you know how I am with the decorating stuff."  
  
"Oh..Sure I guess so." Rory shrugged.  
  
"Good. Let's go." Lorelai grabbed her purse and started to walk out the door.  
  
"What about the coffee?" Rory asked standing up.  
  
"Oh umm...I'll get some to go. Wait for me outside." Lorelai smiled. "Actually, could you run over to Doose and pick some stuff up for me. I have a list."  
  
"Sure. Where's the list?" She questioned, getting suspicious.  
  
"It's...in my head?" She searched for answer.  
  
"Is that a question or statement?"  
  
"Statement?" Lorelai joked but Rory didn't crack a smile "Just humor mommy, sweetie. Umm...we need chocolate and rice and uh, bread."  
  
"Chocolate, Rice and Bread." Rory repeated in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah. That's what I said. Good memory you got there. Now go." Lorelai tapped her back as Rory looked back confused, before walking out the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Lorelai pulled out her cell phone. "Sookie? You have to do me a huge favor. Meet me at the inn in 5 minutes. I'll explain later, but if Rory asks we're discussing colors for the inn. See ya in 5." She flipped her phone off, as she poured two coffees into to go cups. "BYE LUKE." She called before walking out, letting him knew they were gone. 


	3. The Ex Factor

A/N: Song lyrics are in . (i.e. ). Also there's a Dean/Rory scene in here, but don't worry i'm a literati all the way. I just felt like giving them a little justice because he was a big part of her life. They needed more closure.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"You can go downstairs now. They're gone." Jess told Luke as he watched his uncle pretending to look for something in the fridge.  
  
Luke poked his head around the fridge and looked over at Jess, who was still in bed. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You don't have to guard me. Rory's gone."  
  
"Not following." Luke shrugged his shoulders and reached into the fridge. "I just came up to get something." He showed him a ketchup bottle.  
  
"You know we got 3 boxes of ketchup for the diner like 2 weeks ago right?" Jess question. "There's no way it's all gone."  
  
"You've been gone for a while. Maybe the town went on a ketchup frenzy and used it all up."  
  
"Yeah. And maybe I'll become a lawyer." Jess rolled his eyes. "I know you don't want her to see me...you don't have to worry about it. I don't wanna see her."  
  
"What? Why?" Luke asked, he was surprised. He figured that he wouldn't try to get Rory back. He had seen how important she was to him.  
  
"I have my reasons."  
  
"I'm sure you do." He sighed walking toward the door. "By the way. Summer school starts in a week."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. If you're staying here. You're graduating." He ordered before closing the door behind himself. Jess let out a frustrated growl and threw his head back.  
  
A few minutes later, Jess came running down the stairs. He was dressed now, in a black tee shirt and jeans. "I'm going out. I'll be back." He called to Luke, not stopping as he walked out the door. ___________________________________________  
  
"I'm here. I'm here." Sookie called as she ran into the inn out of breath.  
  
"Oh god have you gotten bigger since yesterday?" Lorelai questioned, staring at her stomach.  
  
"Impossible." Rory scoffed.  
  
"A few more centimeters." Sookie announced, proudly rubbed her stomach. "Little Herbert is progressing well."  
  
"Herbert?"  
  
"Jackson's idea. I'm working on him, don't worry." Sookie replied with a laughed as she scrunched her nose.  
  
"Hopefully it'll be a girl and you won't have to." Lorelai offered and Sookie's face became worried. "Do i even wanna hear his choice for a girl?"  
  
"I think it's best left unsaid." She replied.  
  
"That bad?" Rory questioned.  
  
Sookie made a face and rolled her eyes. She and Lorelai laughed Rory shoved her hand in to her pocket and found something inside. Pulling it out, she froze for a second staring down at the piece of paper. It was her Distiller ticket from that night Jess had shown up at the hockey game. She sighed heavily as Sookie continued. "Worse."  
  
"You poor thing." Lorelai comforted, hugging her friend. "So Sookie. You ready to discuss those color?"  
  
"All set." She smiled clasping her hands together. "So what exactly are we picking colors for again?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Silly women. You called me to pick what colors we should paint the rooms. You jokester."  
  
"Oh right. I'm...joking?!" Sookie grinned.  
  
"Isn't she funny sweetie?" Lorelai question with a smiled, but Rory didn't reply. She had her arms crossed and was staring down at the ticket. "Rory? You OK?"  
  
"I'm fine." She lied stuffing the ticket in her pocket and looking up at Lorelai. "Is it OK if I don't help you? I'm not really into interior decorating right now."  
  
"Yeah. That's fine." Lorelai told her, wondering what it was that she had been looking at that had made her so upset. "I'll see you at home OK?" She smiled, brushing her hand with her fingers and kissing her forehead.  
  
"Ok. See you then." She waved as she walked towards the door. "Bye Sookie."  
  
"Bye Rory." Sookie waved back, then let her smile fade into concern as soon as she disappeared. "What was that? Is she OK?"  
  
"I don't know. I have a feeling it has something to do with this." Lorelai replied, pulling out the ticket from her pocket.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Something I found." She replied with a smirked. "...in Rory's pocket."  
  
"You took it from her pocket?"  
  
"Well...I had to know what was bugging her and this is the thing that did it."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Distillers tickets." She stated with a frown, knowing exactly where it had come from.  
  
"Wow. I guess she really doesn't like their music."  
  
"No she does. It's the person who brought her to listen to their music."  
  
"Jess?" Sookie questioned, knowing the answer already. She and Lorelai leaned against an old sofa that was still left from the old owner. "I still can't believe he left without saying good-bye to her. I mean...if I ever see that boy again I'm gonna clock him one." She threatened, squeezing her fingers into a fist and punching the air.  
  
"Start warming up." Lorelai snorted, looking down at the ticket. Sookie looked at her, confused. "He's back."  
  
"He's back?" Sookie questioned and Lorelai nodded. "Jess is back?" Lorelai nodded again. "In Star's Hollow?" She asked and Lorelai continued to nod. "Connecticut?"  
  
"Yes. He's at Luke's right now." Lorelai exclaimed. "That's why I met you here. I needed an excuse to get Rory out."  
  
"She saw him?"  
  
"No. I got her out before he came downstairs." She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"What did she say when she heard he was back?"  
  
"She doesn't know."  
  
"But you're gonna tell her right?" Sookie asked, but Lorelai didn't answer. "Right?"  
  
"Yeah. Eventually. When the time's right."  
  
"If you don't tell her soon. She's gonna find out the hard way. Do you want that?"  
  
Lorelai growled and looked up at the ceiling. "No. You're right." She shuffled her feet and shoved her hand in her pockets. "I'll go tell her now."  
  
"Good girl." Sookie smiled.  
  
"You better hope that sucker is a boy." Lorelai pointed her Sookie stomach before walking out for the inn, coffee still in hand. _______________________________________  
  
Rory shuttered as a cold breath drifted across her face. She was sitting at the bridge, which probably wasn't the best idea. It only brought up memories of Jess that caused her heart to break even more. The basket raffle when she first got to know him really well and realized that he wasn't as bad as he wanted the rest of the world to think. The night of the Dance marathon after Dean had broken up with her and she and Jess admit that their feelings to each other. And just across the lake she could see that spot where she and Jess shared their very first kissed. Rory smiled slightly, remembering the overwhelming feeling of happiness that she had gotten when her lips met his.  
  
She sighed. She really needed to stop all of this remembering. It brought up too many feelings that she was determined to put in the past. She would be going to college in 3 months and she intended to be a new person by then. Now more thinking about Jess and wondering what he was doing and where he was. Her hand swept over her cheek as she wiped away a tear. She was done with him. Forever.  
  
A single foot step of heard on the bridge, but the person seemed to have froze. She didn't want to look. The last thing she wanted was to have a heart to heart with some town resident who would go around telling everyone about how miserable she is without Jess. She decided to ignore the person, in hopes that they would go away.  
  
"Rory." The voice called in an unsure tone.  
  
She sighed slightly, trying to make herself appear as if she hadn't been crying. "Hey Dean." She forced a smile and wiped her eyes before looking up at him.  
  
He walked closer to her and looked into her eyes. She had been crying. She couldn't hide that from him. "You OK?"  
  
"Fine." She grinned, reassuringly then looked away.  
  
Sighing, he bent down beside her, running his hand over her back. "I know you Rory. I loved for 2 years. I've known you long enough to know when you're upset."  
  
Rory laughed and cried at the same time as she let out a breath. "I know." She whimpered, leaning her head on his arm. "I just...I feel so horrible." She whispered, as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm so lost." She cried and he nodded slightly.  
  
"Is it because of ... him?" Dean questioned not wanting to say his name. He was still a little bitter. Even thought he had Lindsay now; the truth was, he would always love Rory. She was his first love.  
  
"Yes...No...I don't know." She sighed removing her head from his arm and looking into his eyes. "A few months ago my life was perfect. I had It'll all planned out. I was going to Harvard. I was...in love with you." She looked down, noticing the sadness in his eyes.  
  
I'll keep a part of you with me  
  
And everywhere I am there you'll be  
  
"And then I had to go and screw everything up. Ruin everybody's life." She breathed. "I broke my mother's heart and crushed our dream of Harvard. And then...you." She stopped unsure if she could continue.  
  
"It's Ok. Keep going." He encourage, sitting down next to her and placing his hand over her's  
  
"I just...god, this is so hard to talk to you about." She laughed slightly, then continued. "He was so...there was just something about him." She finished looking into his eyes. "I got so caught up in him that I didn't realize that I was slipping away from you." Her eyes began to water more. "And I wasn't lying to you when I said we were just friend, because we were. We are. I don't even know when it turned into something more." She stopped and looked at Dean, he look so angry and upset and sad all at the same time. "I'll stop."  
  
"No it's ok. I get it." He smiled slightly, brushing a stray piece of hair from her eyes.  
  
"I think I know how you were feeling." He looked down. "I mean. It must have been hard for you, because I would assume it's kind of like the way I feel with Lindsay." He began. "I mean. I love Lindsay more then anything in this world." Rory looked down, a little hurt by his comment. "I wouldn't be engaged to her if I didn't. ya know." He sighed and Rory nodded. "But there's still this part of me...deep inside...that feels like it's wrong to be feeling this way about someone other then you."  
  
Rory nodded again and smiled slightly, looking up at him. "Yeah." She whispered.  
  
"I guess...I don't know. Maybe that feeling never goes away." He looked into her eyes. "Or maybe it will disappear completely one day." He sighed and looked down at his hands. "It was probably right that...we broke up when we did."  
  
"It's just hard to let go." She finished and he nodded in agreement.  
  
"You loved Jess." He told her, knowing that she wasn't quite sure what she had felt for him. He grinned as he watch the corners of Rory's mouth turn up slightly, then disappear quickly.  
  
Rory trembled slightly as she drew in a breath. "Yeah. I do." She bit her lip. It wasn't past tense it was the present. She still loved him. She couldn't deny that no matter how hard she tried. "But i have to stop." She wiped a tear from her eye.  
  
"It was really crappy what he did to you." Dean simpathized. Rory shrugged as a fresh tear replace the one she had wiped away.  
  
"I got what I deserved." She replied solemnly. "I broke your heart and he broke mine." She laughed slightly. "How's that for Karma." She continued to smile, but it faded away as she stared into the water. "Urgh. But enough about me." She cleared her throat. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm really good." He grinned, letting out a breath. "We set a date."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Rory asked, actually happy for him. "Well, I better get an invitation. I wanna be there so I can cry my eyes out some more."  
  
"It's in the mail." He replied, nudging her slightly.  
  
"Good." She laughed letting her voice trial off.  
  
"Speaking of the wedding. I should really get back. I'm getting fitted from my tux in an hour." He told her, as he began to stand and she followed suite.  
  
"Can I hug you?" She wondered, feeling weird that she had to ask.  
  
"Always." He smiled as she wrapped her arm around his neck and cried into his shoulder. This was it. He was really gone now. Dean had Lindsay and she had no one. Rory was filled with a sense of regret for ever letting him go as she stood in his arm, clinging tightly to him. Her past. But now, she had to let go.  
  
Pulling back, she looked into his eyes. "I'm really happy for you." She told him sincerely. "Lindsay is a lucky girl."  
  
"Jess is a lucky guy." He whispered back, knowingly and she looked down at her feet.  
  
Gently he rested his finger under her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "I'll always love you." He breath gently, before leaning in and kissing her cheek just centimeters from her lips. "Goodbye Rory." She closed her eyes tightly as she felt his warmth leave her body. Dean was gone.  
  
"I love you too." She whispered.  
  
From a distance, Jess watched the scene unfold. He could feeling the jealous begin to rage and then realized that he had no right to be mad. He watched as Rory stood alone on the bridge, crying. Letting out a sigh, he turned and headed back to the diner. She would be happier with Dean anyway.  
  
A/N: Just to let everyone know, I'm leaving for the weekend on vacation and I have to take a driving class when I get back so I don't know when I'll be able to update, but I am going to write while I'm away so I'll be sure to type what I've done and getting it up as soon as possible. 


	4. The Old Formilar Feeling

1

"Rory! Rory!" Lorelai called as she burst into the front door of her house determined to tell her daughter about Jess. "Mommy has something very important to tell you and...well it's pretty big." She continued walking towards the kitchen. "This may require some serious ice cream." She walked to the fridge and opened the freezer pulling out a carton of Rocky Road ice cream then moved to grab two spoons from the dishwasher. "I hope you're sitting down." Lorelai yelled, as she entered Rory's room to find emptiness. "And I'm talking to someone who isn't here."

Lorelai sighed and tossed one of the spoons on the table then took her ice cream to the living room. Taking a seat with her legs crossed beneath her on the couch, she flipped on the tv and began to eat. "I'll just sit here and wait. She has to come back sometime." She told herself out load then shrugged. "Talking to myself now."

------------------------------

Meanwhile, Rory was walking home from the lake when she was hit with the sudden urge for a pile of french fries and a huge slice of pie. Comfort food. Her stomach grumbled and she made a right towards Luke's which was just barely in her sight. Licking her lips she imaged the goodness that was Luke's food, but just as she came closer something, or rather someone, forced her to stop in her tracks.

Was that Jess that just walked into the diner? It couldn't be. Jess was gone. He had left her without saying goodbye. She narrowed her eyes and saw the figure slid behind the counter and threw a towel over his shoulder. It was Jess. Why would he come back to Stars Hollow? Was he back for her? Most of all, why should that even matter to her at this point? She didn't know, but for some reason it did.

She had a choice. She could run home and hide under the covers or she could go into that diner and be an adult about the situation. Taking a deep breath, she turned and race home as quickly as she could.

"Mom!" Rory yelled rushing into the house and slamming the door behind her.

Lorelai was about half way through her ice cream by now. "In here sweets." Entering the living room, Rory threw herself on the couch and buried her face in the cushions. "So I guess you went to Luke's?"

Rory nodded and lifted her head. " I saw him walk in and I panicked...I ran."

"You ran away from him?"

"No...I didn't go in. He didn't see me." She explained.

Lorelai titled her head sympathetically. "So what do you think you're gonna do?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna have to see him eventually right?" She sighed, crossing her arms.

"Yeah. There's plenty of things that will force you do see him at some point."

"Like what?"

"Well...like if they do an experiment on Luke's coffee and discover that it had some sort of magic solution that keeps you young forever then you'll want to go there." Lorelai made up some outlandish excuse.

Rory frowned. "Maybe I should just go talk to him and get it over with."

"It could be the key to your immorality." Her mother joked with a nod.

"Okay, I'm gonna go then." She decided, standing up and fixing her clothes. "Do I look good?"

"Do you need to look good?" Lorelai questioned with a lifted eyebrow, she knew that her daughter still had feels for Jess even if she didn't want to admit it. "You look good."

"Alight. Here I go." Rory sighed, not moving.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Yes. But don't. It's better if it's just me." She replied.

"K babe. Call if you need me." Lorelai yelled as Rory left.

A few minutes later, Rory was standing outside the door of Luke's diner. She glanced inside and saw Jess leaning against the counter with a book in his hands reading. Sensing someone's eyes on him he looked up and met her stare. Holding it for second longer, Rory pulled open the door and walked straight up to the counter, taking a seat on a stool. She was daring him to make a move.

Clearing his throat, Jess closed his book and approached her. "You want some coffee?"

Rory glared at him. "That's all you have to say?"

"Help me out here Rory. What do you want me to say?" He groaned, bracing the counter with both hands an looking directly into her eyes.

"How about you're sorry?" She suggested with an attitude.

Jess rolled his eyes, pushing himself off of the counter. "Oh here we go." He sighed, walking away and then back.

"Yeah. Here we go!" Rory retorted, letting him know that he wasn't getting off that easily. "How could you just leave and not even say goodbye to me. I was on the bus with you Jess...you had every opportunity to tell me. But you didn't. You didn't even call like you said would."

"Yes I did. I called."

"And you didn't say anything!" She yelled. The three costumers in the diner were now watching them intently.

Jess frowned. "It's not like you missed me anyway. That's obvious." He growled, remembering Dean and Rory at the lake.

"What are you talking about I didn't miss you? Do you wanna ask my mother how depressed I've been since you left?"

"Yeah that's exactly who I want to talk to right now. Your mom. We can catch up on the good times." His sarcasm as not escaped him in his absence.

Rory was fuming. "I can't believe you have the nerve to be a jerk to me after everything you've done." She shook her head. "I thought you were better then that...I know you're better then that. In fact, I'm the only one who ever took the time to see that...now I can see why no one else bothered trying." With that, Rory stormed out of the diner.

"What are you looking at?" He grunted at Kirk who quickly went back to eating his food.

"What's all the yelling down here?" Luke questioned as he appeared from the upstairs apartment.

"It's nothing." Jess retorted, grabbing his book from the counter. "I'm done working."

"What? Jess you're supposed to be here for another 20 minutes." Luke called after him but he was already gone.

Back at Home

"He said that!" Lorelai shrieked with disbelief. "That little shit..I knew I didn't like him."

"No there must be something more to this. He never talked to me like that."

"He talks to everyone else like that hun." Lorelai pointed out. "And the only reason he didn't talk to you like that is because he liked you...but you guys are over now. I hate to say it but I think you're finally see the real Jess."

"This sucks."

"Well. Yeah. It has to do with a boy." Lorelai nodded, wrapping her arm around Rory's shoulder.

"I could go for some Rocky Road is cream."

"Uhhh small problem." Lorleai grinned, having finished off the ice cream earlier. "I ate it all."

"What? Mom!"

"Chill out. I'll go get you some."

"Really? I knew I loved you." Rory grinned resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Aww I like to buy your affection with ice cream and sweets." Lorelai smiled.

----------------------------

Back at Luke's about 10 minutes later

"OK where is he?" Lorelai burst into the diner on a mission.

"Jess?"

"No Tommy Lee." She sighed, exasperated. "Yes Jess!"

"Tommy Lee?" Luke lifted an eyebrow.

"Don't question me right now." She ordered, obviously not in a joking mood.

"He's not here. He took his book and went...somewhere."

"Way to keep the authority." Lorelai complimented. "Did you hear what happened?"

"No. What?"

"There was a huge scene.. Jess was a total jerk to Rory and he's never been like that to her." Lorelai explained.

"Well, he loves her." Luke shrugged.

"Excuse me? Is this how the men in your family show love? Because if so that would mean that you have a secret crush on Taylor."

"Funny."

"No. No. It all makes sense now. All of that conflict...it's not fighting, it's sexual tension." She continued, slapping her forehead. "How could I have been so blind?"

"Enough." Luke frowned, just as the diner door swung open. It was Jess.

"Ahh" She huffed, when she saw who it was. "If you're looking to hurt my daughter anymore...you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, she's not here."

"Okay." He sighed, walking to the kitchen door. He didn't want to play any of Lorelai's games right now. "Caesar can I get a burger with fries?"

"Oh man...I never thought I'd see the day when you treated Rory like crap. But I guess since you got what you wanted you don't need to be nice to her anymore right?"

"You don't know what your talking about. So why don't you mind your own business for once." Jess retorted.

"This is my business. She's my daughter and you broke her heart."

"Yeah she looked really broken hearted with Dean this afternoon." He grumbled, as Caesar's rang the bell signaling

"What are you talking about? Rory isn't with Dean. He's engaged."

"What?" He narrowed his eyes, confused. "But I saw them together today talking."

"Well, wow they were talking! That screams hot, steamy romance to me." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." Jess rolled his eyes and then stood with his arms crossed for a second. Then he glanced at Luke and quickly said, "I'll be back." Before rushing out of the diner.

Rory rolled on her side hanging her arm off of the couch and clicking through the channels. There was nothing good on. She let out a breath and let her eyes close slowly. Just as she drifted off there was a huge rapping on the front door.

She sat up and looked around, confused and wondering if she had really just heard a knock on the door. Then it happened again. The knock was loud and forceful. "What the?" Rory groaned and shuffled to the door. "Mom did you forget your key again?" She called as she opened the door, but found Jess instead.

"Jess? What are you doing here?" She narrowed her eyes. He looked annoyed and worked up.

"Can I talk to you?"

"I think we talked enough before. I'm not really in the mood for this right now." She replied, going to shut the door.

Not willing to let the issue go, Jess placed his hand on the door to keep her from closing it. "It involves an apology."

Rory tilted her head, intrigued. "Talk."

"Can we go for a walk or something." He asked, not wanting to be around when Lorelai came home.

Rory sighed. "Fine. I'm gonna go get my keys." Jess stood in the door waiting for a minute before Rory returned. "Let's go."

They had been walking in silence all the way to the center of town. Rory had her hand tucked in her pockets as if they provided some sort of comfort or protection. "Rory. I'm not good at...talking and feelings."

"Could have fooled me."

"Don't." He sighed, stopping suddenly. "Don't think that this was about you. It wasn't about you Rory."

"I know Jess. It was about you...that's the point." She frowned. "It was about how you needed to get away. It was about how you didn't want to admit to everyone that you screwed up."

"Not everyone! I don't care about the people in this stupid town" He paused and looked down that shifted his eyes up to her. "Just you. I didn't like knowing that I let you down Rory."

"I should have been the one you could talk to. Not the one you ran away from because..." She stopped, wondering how much she should say, but decided to go for it any way. "I loved you."

Jess frowned. She 'loved' him. Past tense. "I did love you." He stared into her eyes, never looking away. It took a lot for him to do that. "And I haven't stopped."

"Thank you for telling me that." She nodded sadly, then added. "I needed to know that."

"That why I like books." He paused. "You can always go back and reread the good parts."

"Or skip past the bad parts to the happy ending." Rory added with a grin.

Jess shrugged. "They're not so bad, they give the happy ending more meaning."

Rory smiled, staring up at him. She felt a little bit of hope and excitement. She knew it was stupid to get wrapped up in Jess again but something was always pulling her back to him. "Jess.." She began, on the verge of telling him that she still loved him, but she stopped. She couldn't bring herself to do it. And something told her that she needed to wait...she would feel stupid if she just feel back into his arms. She wasn't going to be one of those girls. "Do you wanna get me that coffee now?"

Jess smirked. Then, feeling the urge to reach out to her, he took her hand in his. Even when they were dating they hadn't walked hand in her. He never did like it because he thought it was corny, but he would do it if that was the only way he could be close to her. "Come on. I'll refuel you."

"You know me too well." She grinned, as they began to walk towards Luke's. "Jess." She stopped him. "Let's get coffee somewhere else. I don't feel like dealing with everyone right now."

"Works for me." He nodded, as they walked hand in hand in a different direction and began conversation as if he had never left.

"So read any good books lately?"


	5. Gosh Darn Hypocrites

1

The next morning, Rory entered the kitchen to find 10 boxes of doughnuts sitting on the table. She opened one of the boxes and found an assortment of them. "Mom! Are we having a breakfast party or something."

"No. Some of those are for the inn for brunch." Lorelai called from the living room. "The other 9 are for you and me" She joked with a smile as she entered the kitchen and glanced at the clock. "Whoa do you realize that it's 8:00am?"

"Yeah. So?" Rory replied, taking a glazed doughnut and biting into it.

"So? You have done nothing but lay in bed until noon ever day since you graduated." Lorelai pointed out.

Rory shrugged. "I guess I'm just tired of being in bed all day. It's a waste of good reading time."

"Uhuh." Lorelai narrowed her eyes. Grabbing four boxes and heading towards the front door. "Help me carry some?"

Rory grabbed four, "I left two for us is that okay?" She questioned, loading the boxes into the Jeep.

"Yup."

"Okay why are you weird?"

"Weird. I'm not weird. I'm totally unweird." Lorelai scoffed.

"I don't think that unweird is a word."

"Does it matter?"

"No."

"Okay then." Lorelai shrugged closing the passenger door and walking around to the drivers seat. "So what did you do last nigh?." She questioned turning to face her daughter.

"Just walked and got coffee." She replied.

"Oh..with Jess?" Lorelai wondered knowingly.

"Yes. With Jess." Rory retorted, sensing that she was about to be annoyed.

"So what? Are you guys like back together now or something?"

"No. We were just talking."

"About how you're gonna get back together?" She pushed, crossing her arms.

"No. I don't know." Rory sighed with frustration.

"Oh Rory."

"Mom we didn't talk about that. But I don't know..." She pained, waiting for a lecture from her mother. "I don't know what's gonna happen."

"I can't believe this Rory. He should be the furthest thing from your mind romantically speaking. He treated you like crap!"

"You just don't understand him."

"I understand that because of him you've been miserable for the past few weeks."

Rory sighed with frustration. "I don't wanna talk about this right now."

"Fine. Whatever. I have to get to the inn."

"Fine. Bye."

"Bye."

Later that morning Rory entered Luke's diner craving a ton of food and secretly hoping to see Jess. Inside she found Luke and plenty of food but no Jess. In the corner, Rory didn't notice Dean and Lindsay eating.

"Hey Luke." Rory greeted, sliding onto a stool.

"Hey. What can I get ya?"

"Ummm how about the entire right side of the breakfast menu." She offered.

"Hungry?" He wondered with a smirk. "I'll get you something good."

"Thanks Luke." She grinned, as the diner owner walked away for a second. "So...where is Jess?"

Luke glanced back at her from the coffee pot. "Uh he's in school."

"School? Really?" She questioned, amazed.

"Yeah it was one of my conditions for him to come back here. He's taking a few classes and then he'll get his diploma in about a month."

"That's really great for him." She smiled proudly.

"Yeah tell him that."

"I will." She nodded, as Luke placed a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and waffles in front of her. "Yay food."

A few minutes later, Jess entered the diner carrying a notebook and a textbook. His presence quickly caught Dean's attention. This was the first time he was seeing Jess since he returned.

"What are you doing here?" Luke questioned, getting angry.

"I have a break until 11." He growled, then noticed that Rory was there.

"Why didn't you tell me you were taking classes." Rory wondered with a huge smile on her face.

Jess shrugged. "It's just a few classes." He mumbled. "I'm gonna go up stairs."

Rory wasn't letting him get away that easily. She hopped off of the stool and followed him as Dean watched on with frustration.

"I think it's great that you're going to summer school." She told him, as they entered the apartment.

"Like I said, it's just a few classes." He repeated, obviously a little embarrassed.

"Classes that are going to allow you to graduate." She pointed out, as he went about making himself a sandwich. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah?" He looked up at her.

"Yeah."

"Huh." A part of him felt excited that she would say that, but he wouldn't let it show. "Does it turn you on?"

"Jess!"

"What? It's just a question." He smirked, loving how uncomfortable she was.

Rory narrowed her eyes, knowing that he was playing some sort of game. She'd call his bluff. "I'm not gonna lie. It kind of does." She told him. Maybe this would give him even more incentive to finish school

"I should probably get back and do some more of that learnin then."

"Probably. Cause I'm getting hot and heavy over here." Rory joked with a laugh, then stood awkwardly as the laugher trailed off. She used to hate those tension filled moments that they used to have before everything happened between them, but now she kind of liked it. It showed that maybe there was still something there.

"OK then...I guess I'll see you around."

"Oh yeah. I'll walk down with you." She replied.

"Actually I just need to do something before I leave so..."

"Oh okay. Well I'll see you later then." She smiled before leaving the apartment.

As soon as the door shut, Jess took a deep breath and kicked the table chair lightly.

That night Rory sat at home on her bed reading her latest book.

"I'm home." Lorelai called as she entered the house, closed the door heavily behind her. "Rory are you here?"

"In my room."

"Are we still fighting?" She wondered, appearing in her daughter's bedroom door.

"I don't know. Are you still gonna give me a hard time about talking to Jess again?"

Lorelai sighed and entered the room, taking a seat on Rory's bed. "I'm sorry. I just don't want to see you get hurt again kid."

"I won't get hurt. I mean who even knows what's going to happen with Jess and me." She frowned.

"Have talked about anything yet?"

"No. Everything between us is really weird right now." She sighed. "Last night...he told me that he loves me."

"Whoa. Hello do I need to define what I meant when I asked if you've 'talk about anything yet'? Because saying you love someone is a pretty big deal." Lorelai's eyes widened, then her face softened. "Does it scare you?"

"I don't know." Rory frowned, receiving a knowing look from her mother. "Fine. Yes. It scares me. I got hurt once, what if he does it again?"

"I don't know sweetie. It's a tough situation."

"Mom." Rory began quietly. "I told Jess that I think I loved him."

"Last night you said that?"

"No. A while ago. That day that he called me at my graduation."

Lorelai frowned, a little hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry. I was confused...I'm still confused." She sighed. "Everything in my mind tells me that I'm stupid to fall for Jess again, but I can't help it. It just happens. It's like I can't stop it."

"Well, that's probably because you're not falling for Jess again."

"What do mean?" She questioned, confused.

"You never stopped falling so how could u fall again?" Lorelai pointed out, then paused for a second. "Rory, do you love him still?"

Rory nodded, wiping her eyes. "I think so."

Lorelai sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and let it leak from her mouth. "Take your time okay? Make sure he's sincere."

"Yeah."

"Okay. I think we need to end this touching moment with a corny hug." Lorelai announced, wrapping her arms around Rory. "Love ya babe."

"I love you too mom."

Three weeks later

Rory and Jess have been hanging out on and off. They have become really good friend again but never mentioned the 'L' word after that time.

"Are you serious? I can't believe they are making you read that." Rory laughed at his english teacher's choice of book, as they strolled down the sidewalk in the center of town.

"I know. It's such a cliche high school english book." He scoffed, as they passed Doose's Market where Dean was working his night shift. "But I'm done with that stupid class next week."

"You're in the home stretch." Rory grinned, brushing her hand over along his arm.

"Ehh. It's wasn't so bad." He shrugged, stopping a few steps away from Doose's.

"See I knew you could do it." She smiled proudly, staring up at him.

"Yeah. You did." He grinned down at her. They stood looking into each others eyes for a second before Jess slowly lifted his hand. Running it through Rory's hair, he leaned down and kissed her softly.

It lasted for only an instant before Rory pulled back slowly. "Jess." She whispered. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I'm sorry." He groaned, angry with himself. "I thought...never mind."

Rory frowned, as he looked away. "I just wanna be sure."

"About what?" He questioned, a little annoyed.

"That you're not going to hurt me again." She replied.

"Rory. I'm not gonna hurt you. I love you."

"You loved me when you left didn't you?"

"Yeah. But it's different now. I'm different now. I changed."

"I know." Rory looked at her feet. "I know you've changed Jess. And I know you're really trying."

"Yeah. I am, but obviously that doesn't make a difference does it?" He yelled, then glanced up at the window of Doose's where he found Dean staring at them. He sighed with frustration, looking back down at Rory. "Why am I doing this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"If I can't be with you then what's the point." He whispered, trying not to yell in front of their observer.

"To graduate. To have a future." Rory replied.

"Oh come on. I don't care about graduating Rory." He groaned. "This is all for you."

"What?"

"Just forget it." He breathed, turning and walking away towards Luke's.

"Jess!" She called, running after him. "Can you just talk to me for once. You say you're doing this for me...well, fine. Graduate then! But that's not all you have to do...you need to learn to talk to me."

"I..." He growled, running his hand nervously over her forehead. "I can try to do that."

"Yeah?" She questioned with a smirk, leaning closer to him.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Good." She continued to grin playfully, reaching up and kissing him lightly on the corner of his lip.

"You're gonna drive me crazy. You know that?"

"Ummm yeah."

"Devil women."

"You love it." She laughed.

"I love you." He told her, completely serious. He stared into her eyes waiting for a reaction. Rory's heart skipped a beat. Everything had been fine for the past few weeks, those three words hadn't been brought up again...not until now. "Rory...you want me to tell you stuff? Fine. I did. Now you tell me something."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Do you still love me? Cause I've said it twice since I've come back and you haven't said it once." He reminded her, obviously annoyed.

"I know."

"Does that mean you don't? Because you're so big on talk and everything...so obviously if you did still love me you'd tell me right?"

Rory sighed. He was right. She knew he was right. She wanted nothing but honesty from him but she could tell him that she loves him. "I'm sorry."

Jess shook his head. "You're a hypocrite." He breathed, before disappearing into the diner.


	6. All's Well that Ends Well

1

Jess entering the apartment, slamming the door behind himself. Luke looked up from the kitchen table, startled. "Watch the door. It has feels too ya know."

"Whatever." Jess grumbled, walking to his room, kicking off his shoes and climbing into bed.

"Bad night?" Luke joked, taking a bite from his fork.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jess mumbled, turning his back to his uncle.

"Great."

-----------

Meanwhile, Rory had just arrived home where she found nothing but quiet which was only interrupted by the soft sound of her mother snoring. Rory felt horrible. She knew that Jess was completely right to call her a hypocrite. How could she expect him to open up to her when she couldn't do the same to him. Suddenly it was becoming easier for her to understand why he might not be able to talk to her sometimes.

Defeated and confused, she shuffled towards her room and climbed into bed. She wasn't up for any reading tonight.

A week passed without a word from Jess. Rory and Lorelai would see him occasionally at the diner but he would just give them his usual scowl and disappear until they left. Rory hadn't even tried to talk to him. She felt lost, just like she had when he had left.

Sighing, she sat back on the porch swing and stared out at the front lawn. Placing a book beside her, she thought about reading but couldn't picture herself being able to really get into the story like she used to be able to.

She found herself waiting. For something...well someone that probably wouldn't come. But much to her surprise, he did. Rory straightened up as she watch him approach slowly. Once he reaching the steps of the porch he stopped. "Can I come up?"

"Sure." She nodded, moving over to make room for him on the swing. "You want to sit?"

"No thanks. I'm not gonna stay long." He shrugged, leaning against the wooden post across from her.

"Oh."

Jess stood silently, staring at the ground before he spoke. "There's this thing tomorrow." He began, still not looking at her. "It's at the high school at 3:00. I get my diploma. The principle gives a speech. It's all very ceremonial."

Rory smiled brightly. "You're graduating tomorrow?"

"I guess you could say that." He nodded. "So I just wanted to let you know. In case you came by the diner around that time and I wasn't there."

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know." She played along.

"Just didn't want you to worry."

"That's very thoughtful of you."

Jess shrugged, walking down the stairs of the porch. "I guess I'm a thoughtful guy." He replied, looking back at her. "G'nite Rory."

"Night Jess." Rory couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Excited, she grabbed her book and rushed inside.

The next day, Rory woke up extra early because she couldn't sleep. She could not wait to see Jess finally graduate.

"Waking up early again?" Lorelai pointed out, lifting an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Jess is graduating today."

"Jess is graduating. Jess as in the guy that hasn't been giving you the silent treatment for a week?" She wondered.

"He came here last night." Rory replied, receiving a look from her mother. "He's making an effort mom. And he didn't do anything wrong. It was all me this time."

"Yeah. Well."

"Why don't you come?" Rory questioned.

Lorelai laughed. "You're silly."

"It was worth a try."

"You're cute." Lorelai continued.

"I know."

"Come on. Let's get some coffee. I need to fuel up."

"Me too!" Rory nodded, as headed out the front door.

"Rory and Jess. Sittin in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Lorelai teased, receiving a smack from her daughter.

"That's enough missy." Rory warned. "Besides, I thought you hate Jess."

Lorelai scoffed, placing her hand on her chest. "Who me?" She questioned, innocently.

"I must be thinking of someone else." Rory shrugged.

"Yes. You must." Lorelai joked with a nod.

Rory stopped walking. "Mom. If I were to be with Jess...would you accept it?"

Lorelai frowned, surprised by her sudden seriousness. "Are you...are you gonna be with Jess?"

"Yeah. I hope so." Rory nodded.

"Soon?"

"Yeah."

"Like how soon?" She questioned.

"Mom!"

Lorelai let out a breath. "Yes. I can accept that." She finally agreed reluctantly. "I don't agree with everything he's done, but I can see that he makes you happy. You're a smart girl. I trust your decisions."

"Thank you."

"Uhuh." Lorelai nodded, not believing that she was going to allow her daughter to be with Jess again. But then again she would probably do it anyway, at least this way she'd have her daughter.

That afternoon dragged by but eventually 3:00pm came close. Wanting to be her normal prompt self, Rory entered the high school at 2:50 and was directed to the room where the band usually practiced. It had risers set up with chairs for friends and family and in the front row there were about 20 or so chairs for the graduates.

Rory spotted Luke immediately. He was sitting by himself in the very back corner. "Hey Luke."

"Hey Rory." He smiled. "Here sit down." He motioned to the seat next to him.

"I will in a minute. I just need to find Jess really quickly. I'll be right back. Save my seat." She told him, as she made her way down the risers and snuck into the back room. Inside she found a bunch of familiar faces that she recognized from some of her classes when she was back at Star's Hollow. Of course, a lot of them weren't in class that much so she didn't remember their names.

Looking around she didn't see Jess anywhere, but noticed that there was an open door on the other side of the room that led outside. Rory made her way to the door and peaked out to find just what she had expected...Jess was leaning against the building in dress pants and button up shirt, smoking.

"Don't you look handsome." Rory announced her presence.

Jess looked over, surprised. "I'm pretty sure you're not allowed out here."

"Yeah well...I'm a rule breaker. What can I say?" She joked, walking towards him.

"Rebel." he smirked, flicking some ash to the ground.

Rory laughed. "Yeah."

"So you came?" He pointed out the obvious.

Rory shrugged. "There was no one to serve me coffee. I got confused."

"I tried to warn you."

"Yes you did." She nodded. "Umm..."

"What?"

"I wrote something." She told him, pulling out a piece of lined paper that had been folded into a square. "Here." She reached out her hand and he looked down at it.

"What is it?"

"Just wait till later to read it." She told him. " Good luck. Luke and I are on the top in the corner."

With that, she left him. Thumbing the paper in his fingers he became lost in thought. She had said to wait before he read it, but he couldn't. He opened the paper and began to read.

Jess,

Ever since the kiss at Sookie's wedding I've started more letters to you then I can count. Some where out there thousands people are writing on my recycled feelings for you and they have no idea. Isn't that crazy to think of what you could be writing on? Like, right now I could be writing on the pieces of a great novel that'll never be read. A missed opportunity...all because the author got too lazy or too busy or too...scared. I don't want us to become an amazing story that never had a chance to be read all because I'm too scared.

You're right. I am a hypocrite. I pressure you and pressure you to talk to me and tell me how you feel but when it comes time for me to say how I feel...I can't. Maybe it's easier if I write it or maybe it's not, but I'm going to anyway. I still love you. I love you. There is said...well, actually I wrote it. But either way it's out there...I love you.

Rory

P.S: Congratulations. I'm proud of you.

Folding up the paper quickly, he rested his head against the wall and sighed. That was what he had been waiting to here since the very first night he came back.. He felt as if there was a weight lifted off of him.

-------------

"Jess Mariano." The principle read off his name and he walked slowly across the stage. He finally graduated, but the one thing on his mind was Rory. As he took the dimploma in his hand he glanced up at her. She was smiling. She was proud of him. It made him proud of himself.

"Oh man." Luke whimpered, wiping his eye.

"Luke are you crying?" Rory smirked, looking over at the big, tough guy sitting beside her.

Luke looked away. "No. I think I just ...I have something in my eye."

"Uhuh." Rory nodded, knowingly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. The graduating class of the summer session." The principle announced, not sounding as excited or proud as he had at Lane's graduation. Most of the kids threw their hats in the air, but Jess sat slumped in his seat, shaking his head at the stupid tradition. Rory laughed. She could have predicted that one.

Soon everyone was seperated into their only little family groups, hugging and congratulating each other. Luke rushed down to the floor and shook Jess' hand, then gave in and hugged him. "I'm proud of you kid."

"Thanks." He nodded, then looked up to where Rory was standing. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah. Okay...I have to get back to the diner anyway." He smiled. "Just makes sure you stop back there for a while cause I got a cake. It's nothing big or anything...just a little something."

"Alright." He nodded, then turned. There she was. She looked nervous. Understandable. He smirked and pulled out the letter, holding it up as he climbed towards her.

"You were supposed to wait to read that." She told him, as he got closer.

"Do I ever do what I'm supposed to?" He asked.

"Sometimes." She whispered, as Jess finally reached her, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her lips to his. "I love you Jess."

"I already knew that."

"Oh you did huh?"

"Yeah...I'm a smart guy. Didn't you here? I'm a high school graduate now." He smirked. Rory smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips firmly against his.

Maybe they wouldn't be perfect. Hopefully there would be more good times then bad. They would probably fight and yell sometimes. They might even hurt each other every once and a while. But from now on they would both know...that they are in love.


End file.
